On the one hand, the characters of Sogolon, her “friend” Princess Emini, and her “husband” Keme are extremely well developed. Abrupt transitions with little to no explanations result in a narrative that is difficult to follow and laborious to understand.Ĭharacterization is a mixed bag for a number of reasons. Several sections of the narrative were reread in an effort to understand mysterious shifts in characterizations, settings, and time periods only to discover the explanation isn’t available for another fifty pages. Told from the first and third person POVs of an “uneducated, bush woman” the combination of pre-colonial African colloquialisms and speech patterns with circuitous and tangential storytelling result in what I would charitably call a “challenging” narrative. After over 600 pages of linguistic acrobatics, an exhaustion creeps into the bones that suggests having crawled a marathon.

However, too much of a good thing is not always the best recipe for success. In fact, I defy any fan to not recognize his writing after only a page. Marlon James’ prose and narrative style are both unique and inspired. Spanning 177 years, Sogolon tells her life story, including how she became a member of the rescue party, and retells the events of the first novel from her point of view, adding a fair amount of mystery and intrigue as her account of those events rarely correspond with those told by the tracker. “Moon Witch, Spider King” reshuffles the deck, and recasts Sogolon as the primary protagonist and narrator. The story is told in a non-linear fashion as a series of adventures recounted by a protagonist known only as “The Tracker.” Among the assembled fellowship, and serving as a minor antagonist, is Sogolon, known as the Moon Witch. “Black Leopard, Red Wolf” is the story of a group of extraordinary men, women, and fantastical creatures assembled with the intention of rescuing a child that has been missing for three years. That being said, “Moon Witch, Spider King” can be enjoyed as a standalone fantasy novel, but for the richest experience possible it is advisable to read it within the context of its intended trilogy. While technically this is a review for “Moon Witch, Spider King,” it’s nearly impossible to separate it from “Black Leopard, Red Wolf,” as clearly each book serves as a unique view of the same whole. Martin, with a little Stephen King and Larry Flynt thrown in for good measure and you won’t even scratch the surface of the Dark Star Trilogy. Tolkien, part Lewis Carroll, and part George R.R. Author Marlon James returns to his genre-bending world of the Dark Star Trilogy in his follow-up to “Black Leopard, Red Wolf,” with “Moon Witch, Spider King.” Imagine a mad scientist hunched over a concoction that is part L.

Dark star marlon james